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Smoking, Hard Choices we have to Make

January 3, 2008 — EMC

Here I am at Day 1 as a non-smoker. That’s okay. I could have finished the pack I bought instead of only smoking two and throwing them out the car window. Actually, when I threw them out, I thought to myself, “I should have given them to a homeless person…” then I finished the thought with , “…so they can kill themselves.” After that, I was glad I threw them out the car window. I don’t wish this on anyone.

I had a Dr’s. appointment yesterday at 10:40 a.m. with my MD to discuss the results of my Bone Density Test. Well, being post-menopausal and a heavy smoker all my life and a caffeine addict to boot, you can guess that the results weren’t very good. My T-score was -2.5 on my lower lumbar in my spine. According to the Dr. that is not good for someone so young. On my hips it was a little better, only -1.3 which is Osteopenia. That means, not quite Osteoporosis. So he gave me Fosomax and told me to take 1200 mg of Calcium with Vitamin D. The good news is you can reverse the damage and rebuild the bone. Isn’t that cool?? If you want more information click here to go to the FORE web site.Foundation for Osteoporosis Research and Education

The wiki definition is: Osteoporosis is most common in women after the menopause, when it is called postmenopausal osteoporosis, but may develop in men and premenopausal women in the presence of particular hormonal disorders and other chronic diseases or as a result of smoking and medications, specifically glucocorticoids, when the disease is called steroid- or glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (SIOP or GIOP).

Meanwhile, back at the Dr’s. office He listened to my lungs and said they sounded 100% better than back in October. No wheezing, my lungs were clear! That’s not something I hear very often. I told him I had joined the gym and was exercising three times a week. He said that also helps the Osteo problems. So, I walked out of the Dr’s. office and threw my cigs out the window on my way back to work. I felt like a new woman. All of my reasons for quitting renewed. I suddenly wanted to live again. It turned out to be a great day. I am going to take the Chantix under the supervision of my Dr. It’s called following instructions. Not something I do very well. I always try to do it My Way!! I’ll talk later about why this delays me getting my false teeth this month!quit smokingchantix
TTFN